Vest Financial LLC Grows Position in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Vest Financial LLC lifted its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 18.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 309,359 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 47,754 shares during the period. Applied Materials makes up 0.8% of Vest Financial LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. Vest Financial LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $63,338,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. Forvis Mazars Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 11.2% during the 3rd quarter. Forvis Mazars Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 23,510 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $4,814,000 after acquiring an additional 2,361 shares in the last quarter. Joel Isaacson & Co. LLC raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 16.2% during the third quarter. Joel Isaacson & Co. LLC now owns 3,835 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $785,000 after purchasing an additional 536 shares during the last quarter. Impact Investors Inc raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 4.6% during the third quarter. Impact Investors Inc now owns 3,939 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $807,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. Boomfish Wealth Group LLC boosted its position in Applied Materials by 3.7% during the third quarter. Boomfish Wealth Group LLC now owns 17,267 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $3,535,000 after purchasing an additional 619 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Grey Fox Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter worth $41,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Teri A. Little sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.24, for a total value of $952,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 84,351 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,095,782.24. This represents a 4.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 609 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.53, for a total value of $155,617.77. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 4,413 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,127,653.89. This represents a 12.13% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 8,609 shares of company stock valued at $2,044,898. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on AMAT. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $205.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 14th. BNP Paribas raised Applied Materials to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 17th. Craig Hallum reissued a “hold” rating and set a $190.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, November 14th. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $350.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. Twenty-three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $286.89.

Applied Materials Price Performance

AMAT stock opened at $318.23 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $265.03 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $220.06. The company has a market cap of $252.34 billion, a PE ratio of 36.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 1.67. The company has a current ratio of 2.61, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $123.74 and a 12-month high of $331.00.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.11 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $6.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.68 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 24.67% and a return on equity of 39.26%. The company’s revenue was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.32 EPS. Applied Materials has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.980-2.380 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 19th will be given a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 19th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 21.20%.

Applied Materials Profile

Applied Materials, Inc is a U.S.-based supplier of equipment, services and software used to manufacture semiconductor chips, flat panel displays and other advanced materials. Headquartered in Santa Clara, California, the company designs and sells capital equipment and related technologies that enable production of integrated circuits, display panels and materials used across the electronics supply chain.

Applied Materials’ offerings include process equipment and factory software that support critical steps in device fabrication, such as deposition, etch, implantation, inspection and metrology, as well as systems for packaging and advanced heterogeneous integration.